jkelley

I really don't understand why people are suggesting memorizing rpm vs. speed in every gear? I feel like I rev match very well and I do it all by sound. I never have to look at the speedo when shifting. I feel like this is the best way to do it? You grow accustomed to the drive ratios of each gear and I'll know the "step change" of rpms I need to blip up from any of those gear to the next lower gear.

To the OP, when I blip the throttle it's a solid step on the gas pedal and I just know about how long I have to leave it there instinctively (it's only like a half-second or less maybe) because the weight of the flywheel and other junk are going to take time to "spool up." So Hopefully you aren't trying to find the "steady state" pedal position to leave the throttle to where it matches the rev you are thinking for the next change, this would take entirely too long - I don't care how good of a driver you are. You're basically punching the gas down hard and "catching" the RPM about there you want it on it's way up, let off the gas prematurely to the RPM and it will still climb for a small gap of time and that's where you catch the gear.


Maybe this only makes sense in my head and not how I've explained it lol.


P.S. I am growing to love my K&N FIPK but it kinda sucks for rev matching lol. Since I push the gas down hard to spool my throttle up faster it opens the throttle body past the point where it goes "BWAA" but only does it for a fraction of a second so it sounds kinda stupid lol...

arsenal

Not this. You don't want to be looking at the speedo everytime you try and downshift. Go by bum speed and sound.

windhund116

"Go by bum speed and sound." And feel. Become one with your engine and the car.

"Zen and the Art of S2000 Maintenance."

RMurphy

LOL! I see what you did there.

I re-read that book every few years. Always means something a little bit different to me each time as I experience more things in my life.

I've got the sequel, but every time I sit down to it, I kind of lose interest. I should try again. For me, Pirsig requires a slow digestion process and I tend to be a "get to the point" kind of reader. Not very zen-like.

Chris_Lum

THIS.



It's almost a worse idea to post a question like this on the forums, when the solution is to just practice. Why? because everyone will overcomplicate it and write an essay about how to go about doing it. You already know how to do it, so you just need to practice.

Only with practice will you start to learn whether you need a stronger throttle blip or not, whether you need to let the clutch out faster or slower, etc.

Car Analogy

I disagree. There is a technique to it, and if you don't know what you are supposed to do you can't just practice your way past it.

Think of it like dancing, which its not far off from. What if you couldn't really SEE people dancing, just sort of heard their feet and got a glimpse of their movements. Could you just practice your way to salsa or tango?

Colinian

It's a little bit of everything mentioned here. Practice, know approximate revs for the next and previous gears, go by sound and, if you can, rev counter, and practice more.

Chris_Lum

Did you read his post? sounds to me like he knows exactly what he's doing. Even where his fault is. He just needs practice.

When you practice, for example, downshifting from 4th to 3rd at 40mph MULTIPLE times, you tend to learn whether you need more gas or less gas or a quicker clutch or slower clutch based on how the car reacts. Yes, of course, you need to learn the steps before hand, but he already knows the steps! The rest is all done by feel. If you let the clutch pedal out and the car jerks because the flywheel was spinning to low, then guess, what? you need to gas it more next time unit it's smooth. If you let the clutch pedal out and the car clunks because the flywheel has to drop in speed suddenly to catch at a lower RPM, then you had too much throttle and you need less next time--until it's smooth! You get all of this by what you feel in the car while you practice this constantly. Practice, practice, practice.

S14 to S2k

Like everyone said, you just have to keep doing it and you will get it sooner or later. I clutch in and then blip the throttle as I'm moving the shifter to the lower gear and then I let the clutch out just as I put the shifter in. It's like one smooth motion.

You can't always get it perfect. I've been driving manual for 6-7 years now and I still have my good days and bad days. Also, if you think rev matching is hard, wait until you try heel toeing.